01/31/14

Gig Bag: The Latest Must-Have Gear

JodyJazz's JET alto mouthpiece & Hammond's XK-1C portable organ

“A brighter, bolder-sounding mouthpiece,” is how JodyJazz, Inc., describes its new JET series for saxophone. The Savannah, Ga.-based company announced its new range of mouthpieces late last year, first rolling out an alto model, to be followed by tenor, baritone and soprano models.

Hammond XK-1C Portable Organ

According to a press release, the mouthpieces, made on the company’s new five-axis CNC mill in its Savannah factory, use “many of the same state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques developed by JodyJazz during the design and development of its DV series.”
Available tip-opening sizes include 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, and the JET alto is “… fully gauged and play tested by experienced saxophone players before it leaves the factory.” jodyjazz.com

Hammond XK-1C Portable Organ

The Hammond B3 organ stands among jazz’s most beloved sounds, but carting around one of those behemoths requires a sizable vehicle and a few strong bodies. The new 16-pound Hammond XK-1C Portable Organ—which Hammond claims is its smallest and lightest yet—aims to solve that dilemma by matching the classic Hammond vibe with gig-ready portability.

This new model employs the same ultrarealistic Virtual Tonewheel engine as the company’s B3-mkII Console Organ, and flaunts extensive customization capabilities. A Leslie simulator is included, so the XK-1C can be tailored to replicate the vintage Hammond/Leslie combinations from your favorite soul-jazz LPs. Among the other features are drawbars, Hammond’s original chorus/vibrato and touch-response percussion, and 64 factory patches (with 64 user-programmable patches available). The sounds of two of the most popular transistor combo organs are here, along with 28 classical pipe organ sounds for the odd orchestral gig. hammondorganco.com